Management

Fernando Osvaldo dos Santos, Partner and Chairman of Group Vernon

Fernando Osvaldo dos Santos, born in 1971, holds a BA in Economics with a Diploma in Development Economics and a Masters in Development Economics from the University of Manchester.

From 1991-1992 he was hotel manager at the Alcobaça Complex in Luanda and from 1992-1994 he was the Finance Director for the Frescangol Project in Luanda. In 2003-4 he attended a training course at the Institute for Petroleum Development in Austin, USA, where he attained a certificate in International Petroleum Management.

He holds accountancy, logistics and stock management certificates from Luanda. Fernando Osvaldo dos Santos went on to attend a training course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on ‘Understanding and Solving Complex Business Problems’ and completed his FCPA compliance courses.

Fernando Osvaldo dos Santos has seven years experience in the oil and gas industry in Angola. He was instrumental in bridging the Baker Petrolite concept, which allowed for the formation of Baker Petrolite Angola. From 2003-2007 he was an Administrator for Vernon Angolan Services, Ltd.

Manuel António da Silva Neto, Administrator for Vernon Angolan Services, Ltd.

Born in 1966, he is currently completing his doctoral thesis for the laboratory of Rural Dynamics at the University of Toulouse Le Mirail, in France. He holds a Diploma in Advanced Studies in Rural Sociology from the University of Toulouse Le Mirail. Previously, he carried out agro-ecological and agricultural work placements in Reunião, Benin and Ghana. He holds an Engineering Diploma in Agricultural Techniques for tropical climates from EITARC, Montpellier, France.  In 1990 he completed a training course at the National School for Agricultural Training (ENFA) in Toulouse. In 1997 he was the national coordinator for the AAD Project Department (Angolan Action for Development). In 1997 he also became the technical assistant for the Directive on National Secondary and Technical Education for the Ministry of Education and Culture in Angola.

From 2000-2003 Manuel António da Silva Neto was the spokesperson for a group of NGOs that analyzed fund distribution at the local level in the Luanda province. He was also the Lusophone countries’ spokesperson for the NGO Forum at the 3rd UN Conference on Developing Countries.

From 2003-2007, he was the Managing Director of PROCEA, Ltd and the joint Managing Director of PROCEA-COMFUBA, Ltd. His projects have included being the coordinator for ‘Rede Terra’, directing the strategic planning for ADRA (Action for Rural and Environmental Development), facilitating the strategic planning process for the Project Department of IERA.

His research projects have included ‘Together for Africa’ for ADRA-PPM, Germany; monitoring the progress of development projects for IERA and ADRA in Angola; ‘The problem of terrain in Angola and its challenges for the reconstruction of the country’ as Doctoral Project for the University of Toulouse Le Mirail (amongst other research projects carried out for the university); ‘The role of Civil Society in the Fight against Poverty’ for ADRA with funding from Banco Mundial, Angola; ‘Poverty and Economic Growth’ for ADRA and the Foundation of Sacred Hope in Angola; ‘The situation of basic education in Angola’ for ADRA-OXFAM.